Thu, 15 Feb 2018 15:23:20 -0800WeeblyThu, 15 Feb 2018 19:36:35 GMThttp://www.saint-johns.org/weekly-reflections/fast-fromLast year I wrote that fasting is one of the hardest spiritual practices for me because I like food. As an alternative, I suggested what Pope Francis had outlined in a recent article. As I wrote earlier, I’d like to fast from advertising which is rather pollyannic since advertising is so pervasive in my social and economic circle. Besides, the point of fasting in Lent is to identify ways that we are pulled from God and then do something that brings us to a closer relationship with our Creator. Advertising pulls me away from communion with God by replacing that relationship with things/desires/tastes; it also pulls me away from loving my neighbor by creating competition with what they have compared to what I have. As previously noted, I do feel superior to others when I carry around a Starbucks coffee. However, I noticed that when I carry around my reusable shiny metal Starbucks 20-ounce container, I still feel loftier than those who do not have one. Last week, while in line at a Starbucks with a parishioner, I couldn’t help but feel better than the people who were using landfill cups. I’m sorry about it; but it’s true. As such, I am going to avoid going to Starbucks for 40 days and 40 nights and I will put duct tape over the symbol to see if that does the trick. Also, I am going to start writing about what it’s like to buy nothing new until Easter. Look for it on my Facebook page.

In the tradition that Pope Francis wrote his list (Fast from hurting words – say kind words; Fast from sadness – be filled with gratitude; Fast from pessimism – be filled with hope), here is my 2018 list.

Fast from desire – God provides everything.Fast from the easiness of fast food – It took God 7 days to create. Fast from disquiet about politics – God is in charge of everything.Fast from the lure of selfishness – Jesus became like a servant to set us free.Fast from thinking better about myself – God knows the heart of everyone.Fast from the thrill of Starbucks – Remember Jesus was in the desert for 40 days. Fast from obsessing about the news – God has the whole world in his hands.Fast from wanting more – pray for people who have less; much, much less.

Come to think of it, I should fast from these things for an entire year, not just Lent.

- Fr. Dave

]]>Tue, 13 Feb 2018 20:07:24 GMThttp://www.saint-johns.org/weekly-reflections/letting-go-and-listeningA clergy friend of mine wrote something that has struck a chord in me. Fr. Mike Flynn wrote that the closer we get to Jesus, the quieter he speaks which necessitates that we constantly listen and have dicey faith so that we are persuaded by his small still voice.

It is reported in all four Gospels that Jesus went to quiet places to pray. Since no one has ever been closer to God than Jesus it behooves us to pay attention to his habits. What if, for example, Jesus went to desolate and quiet places simply to enjoy the intimacy of his relationship with the Creator. I imagine it this way – there are two ways I know what I am thinking. One is to talk to someone in order to bounce ideas off them. They often sound very different on the rebound. The other is to sit quietly by myself to think and listen and draw as close as I can to the Creator and Sustainer. Maybe Jesus was the same and would either bounce ideas off other people or go off to quiet places to think and talk to the Holy Undivided Trinity. The Gospels give examples of Jesus doing both of those.

Back to the main issue – the closer one is to Jesus, the quieter he speaks. This means those who are far off hear him well and those who are near do not. That is not how we, as humans, like things. I never imagine the prophet Isaiah having a hard time hearing God speak. Jeremiah, Noah, even Jonah, seemed to hear God loud and clear. Yet, based on Fr. Flynn’s principle, they too, like you and me, must be intentional when listening to God.

Moses had to go up to Mt. Sinai for 40 days to hear God’s voice. That is a long time to spend alone with anyone. But that is how close Moses was to God. The great prophet Elijah had to spend time in the wilderness by himself to hear God. He was in a cave and heard hurricane force winds but knew God was not in the wind. He went through a massive wildfire but knew that God wasn’t in the fire. He survived a giant earthquake but knew God was not in the shaking of the ground. Then, he heard a soft whisper in a gentle breeze. He left the protection of the cave and listened for the Lord. (1 Kings 19:11-13)

I imagine Mother Teresa in conversation with God. You would think she was so close to God that she could hear him easily. As it turns out, based on the Flynn principle and on what she herself reported, she had to strain to hear God the same as you and I. That also means the so-called holy people of our day have to really pay attention to what God is saying because his voice is so quiet to them.

This is a humbling principle. I think that God speaks loudly to folks we call new Christians. They’re on fire for the Lord. But the closer they draw, the softer Jesus speaks which might lead to discouragement. I know folks who have entered AA and clearly heard God. But, the more steps they took, and the longer they lived into their sobriety, the quieter Jesus spoke. I certainly experienced this in seminary. I heard Jesus quite well during my discernment. But then, during my three-year formation, the voice of Jesus got softer and softer. It’s nice to know if Jesus’ voice is still and quiet, it’s not that I’m not drifting from Jesus, rather he is inviting me to get closer to hear. During very difficult times in ministry, I feel close to Jesus as if I am sitting at a small coffee shop table with him. Yet, in those intimate times, Jesus beckons me to come closer and speaks in a whisper.

As we live into a holy Lenten season by letting go of things that hold us from a closer walk with God, we should at the same time practice listening for that soft whisper on a gentle breeze.

-Fr. Dave]]>Wed, 07 Feb 2018 21:46:11 GMThttp://www.saint-johns.org/weekly-reflections/nothing-newDon’t look now but Lent is coming. Traditionally, something is given up during Lent to draw us closer to Jesus. If giving up chocolate brings you closer to Christ, then please give it up for the 40-day season. However, if you are looking for something a little more challenging, you might want join me on my Lenten quest.

I am deeply concerned about our advertising culture. Besides ruining the English language, advertising inundates us with commercials while we are doing something as simple as reading a story on-line or checking up with friends on Facebook. This past week, I read a story on my Google news feed but found myself reading a two-inch tall by five-inch-wide pop-up ad on the top and bottom with scrolling advertisements along the side. For those that receive the newspaper, how much weight, literally, is the news and how much is print advertising? Reading the news is not my Lenten concern. You see, advertising works is by making you feel bad. The worse you feel, the better their product looks. Advertising also puts us in competition with our neighbors. Envy is a highly effective marketing tool. Making you feel bad and envy your neighbor’s things is a sure fire recipe for sales! I find it impossible to love God with my whole heart while coveting what others have. I can’t be envious and in competition with my neighbors and simultaneously love them like myself. I think if I give up advertising for Lent, I’ll be in a closer walk with Jesus by Easter. There is a problem: I can’t entirely give up advertising. It is too prevalent, widespread and rampant in my life. As a follower of Jesus, what am I to do?

During Lent, I am not going to buy anything new. No new clothes, no new gadgets, no new exercise clothes, no new tools, and no new books. Yikes! I can’t believe I just wrote that. But, it gets worse. I am not going to buy any fast food I have seen advertised. No Jack in the Box. No Black Angus. No… Starbucks? Uggh. Worse yet, every Sunday morning for the past ten years (I am not exaggerating), I get a breakfast sandwich and iced coffee from McDonalds. What am I going to do? To be honest, there is something about carrying around a Starbucks drink that makes me feel better than those who are not. There, I said it and that’s a practice I must stop.

Here are some exceptions. I wear a size 15 shoe. If I need a new pair of shoes, I have to buy them new. Buying food at a grocery store that advertises is a necessity. Elijah’s birthday falls in Lent. I am going to buy him a present or two. That’s it. On the flip side, if I absolutely need a new tool, kitchen device, work out shirt, or gadget, there is a new Goodwill store nearby. There is Craigslist.com, which I have used to buy and sell things. Even Amazon.com has a used section. The point is this – advertising is bad for the human soul. It sets us against each other, against what we have already been blessed with, and creates a hole in our hearts that is only temporarily filled with buying more things.

At our Bible study class on Wednesday, I brought up this Lenten idea. One parishioner said she’ll join me and will save the money she’d normally spend on new things and give it as her Easter gift. Now that truly is a new life experience!

The economy is doing just fine. Consumer confidence is quite high. They’re not going to miss us for 40-days. Will you join me this Lent and refrain from being influenced by our advertising culture?

-Fr. Dave

]]>Mon, 05 Feb 2018 21:48:31 GMThttp://www.saint-johns.org/weekly-reflections/location-historyDo you have a smart phone? If so, did you know that Apple phones and Android phones have the ability to find your phone if you lose it? The technology is pretty neat. If you can’t find your phone, you can enable it to show you on a map where it is, and, on some models, it can make a loud sound, even if the ringer is turned off. We discovered this week what happens when an earthquake causes tsunami warnings. Did your phone go off and alert you? Many folks were woken from sleep in Alaska to alert them of a possible incoming wave. On Saturday, the Marshalls visited some clergy friends. The directions I had seemed to miss a step. I asked my phone to give me directions, which it did; come to find out we were very close to his house. That technology is pretty neat.There is another side, however, that as your pastor, I think you should know about. In an article written by David Yanofsky, he and a team of researchers discovered some of what your phone knows and what it tracks. The list is pretty astounding. Using a variety of different manufactures, the researchers found out that your phone predicts the likelihood of you walking, riding a bicycle, traveling on a bus, on a train or in a car. Your phone records the barometric pressure and elevation of your location. It records whether or not you are connected to a Wi-Fi signal, the frequency strength of the signal, the signal strength of every other Wi-Fi signal near you, the location, name and strength of other Bluetooth beacons, the voltage of your battery, how much power you have left in it and whether or not you are charging your phone. This information is all logged into your location history. Additionally, your phone is always listening. Always. If you say certain key words, it will fire up to do a requested action. This past week, my phone has responded twice during meetings asking if I wanted to perform some sort of task. I no longer keep my phone near me (within ear shot) when I have a pastoral meeting. Your phone also knows your voice and can read your finger print. This is the type of stuff that George Orwell, in his famous book, 1984, could not even dream of. Yet, it is happening right now in your pocket, your purse, or wherever you keep your phone.

There is a way to “turn off” this stuff. Find the Location History in your phone and opt out. The reason why I put in quotations “turn off” is because I don’t think it really turns it off. When you delete a file from your computer, it is not really deleted. What is removed is the title of the file. The information remains. Imagine it like this. You have a file drawer with 20 files in it. Instead of throwing away a file, you just simply remove the title. Eventually, you’ll need the space so you will remove a file when you need the room. But, until that time, the data, or pages, remain. I think even with opting out of location history, your phone does what it does, it tracks, listens, records and waits.

A couple of Sundays ago, I preached on Psalm 139. After reading about what my phone does, and most likely yours too, I read verse 1 and 2 in a new way. “Lord, you have searched me out and know me; you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar.” The difference I see for Christians is this, God doesn’t need special technology to know these things about us. God simply knows. God created us, knows us, and watches over us – not for commercial gain (like selling advertising space on your phone because it knows you are near a particular store) – but for love. Another difference is this, we can’t opt out of God’s love or God’s watching over us. And really, why would we.

-Fr. Dave]]>Wed, 31 Jan 2018 21:19:28 GMThttp://www.saint-johns.org/weekly-reflections/go-in-peaceMy first Major League Baseball game was courtesy of a friend’s dad who had season tickets to the California Angels way back when they shared a stadium with the Rams. They were awesome seats, 20 rows behind home plate. When the 7th inning came, he said, “Well, it’s time for us to go.” My friend got up so I followed, very confused. I had been to many sporting events but never once left early. Starting in grade school, I went to the high school where my dad worked to watch the Cardinals’ basketball games. They went past my bedtime but we didn’t leave early. Likewise, we went to Spanaway Speedway to watch junker cars drive an 1/8th mile figure-8 track trying not to hit each other. Despite how crowded the parking lot was, I don’t ever remember leaving early. Thus, I found it strange leaving a Major League game before it ended.

The Episcopal Church believes in a God of order; therefore our worship service emphasizes order. To some it may appear to be rote; I find comfort and peace in it. The Russian Orthodox Church has an ordered service which is very long, usually over three hours. Most worshippers take prolonged smoke breaks – even if they don’t smoke. A new church by my house has a coffee stand in the narthex. During the worship service, worshippers sit there and watch the service. There are many varied ways of worshipping God through Christ. I would never say ours is the best but it is a part of the great tapestry that wraps all believers together into one Spirit.

Being a service of order, there is a clear beginning and end. The beginning starts with, “Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” The service ends with one of a variety of dismissals; my favorite is, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” Rev. Cathey dismisses with words to this effect: “The worship service has ended. Service to the Lord begins. Go in peace.” At the 8 am service, we wait to dismiss until the candles on the altar are extinguished. Saint John’s lore has it that back in the old church there were many candles behind the altar and folks would wait until all were extinguished. At the 10 am service, there are more moving parts – a recessional hymn and a recessing choir with altar servers and clergy. We like to have the altar candles extinguished around the end of the hymn as the dismissal is taking place. It’s quite a feat and I wonder how many people notice how much syncing it takes.

The church I served while in seminary had a plaque that read “ENTRANCE” next to the green exit sign above the doors leading outside. The church lore there is that before exit signs were mandatory, a larger sign over the exit doors read, “ENTER the Mission Field where the harvest is Great and the Laborers few.” Because they could not legally have an “entrance” sign where there should be an exit sign, the large sign was removed. The Sunday after the illuminated exit signs were installed, someone took the “entrance” plaque above one of the doors leading into the church kitchen and installed it above the exit doors to the church. It is still there.

No matter how many ways the universal Church worships our Savior, each service has a beginning and an end, and the service we do in Christ’s name, as Reverend Cathey reminds us, continues out into the world.

-Fr. Dave

]]>Wed, 17 Jan 2018 17:35:12 GMThttp://www.saint-johns.org/weekly-reflections/set-aside-nessBelieve it or not, we’re only about a month away from Lent. Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine’s Day this year. Eeeeck! That means we are in the Advent of (waiting and preparing for) Lent.

Today we will discuss two conflicting ideas in the Bible. The first is followers of God are supposed to be in the world, be part of the world, but transform the world through the societies that we participate in. Passages supporting this idea may be familiar: “You are the light of the world,” “You are a city on a hill that shines for all the world to see,” “Do not hide your light, rather, let your light shine,” (Mt 5) “You will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious." (Isaiah 55:5)

Simultaneously, there is the idea that followers of God are set aside. We are to be apart from, unstained, unaffected by the world and the societies in which we live. From Deuteronomy, “You are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.” (7.6) Psalm 4:3, “The LORD set apart the godly for himself. The LORD will answer when I call to him.” From Exodus 23:2, “Stand apart from a crowd in wrong doing, do not participate with them who pervert justice.” From St. Peter’s first letter, “You are a chosen people; you are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. … Your friends from your old life will be surprised when you no longer do what they do, so they will slander you.” (2.9, 4.4) From the Letter to the Hebrews, “For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest [Jesus], holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens” (7:26)

In addition, St. Paul writes in Second Corinthians, “Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. What partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? What fellowship is there between light and dark? What agreement is there between the Temple of God and idols?” Then quoting Isaiah and Ezekiel, Paul writes, “Come out from them, separate from them, touch nothing unclean; then I will welcome you, and I will be your Father and you will be my daughters and my sons.” (6:17-18)

What are we to do? Over the millennia, followers of God have tried different ways to be set-aside. The Essenes sequestered themselves in the desert. Monastics created enclaves to separate themselves. Today some people participate in Hasidic Judaism who, starting in the 18thcentury, have lived separately. Are we supposed to separate ourselves? Should we convert Saint John’s property to living spaces for the congregation so we can live holy and separate from the world?

The answer is yes and no. It is impossible to remain unstained by society and the only way to live in this world is to keep our hearts pure of material and selfish desires and judgmental thoughts.

During Lent we can experience a set-aside-ness while living in the world. When I worked for the insurance company, I gave up alcohol and unhealthy food for Lent. My department went out Fridays for happy hour. I went but sat with a glass of water and celery sticks. As St. Peter predicted, I was ridiculed, though softly, nicely, in a Fortune 100 corporate sort of way; I chose to go with my department but to be separate. That’s what Lent is about and perhaps that is a way of living our entire spiritual lives.

-Fr. Dave

]]>Mon, 08 Jan 2018 21:05:51 GMThttp://www.saint-johns.org/weekly-reflections/teleiosOver the Christmas holiday, while I was lying in bed with a fever, I had several great theological epiphanies. One had to do with this very tricky saying from Jesus, “Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” At face value, there are two major problems: first, it would appear we can be perfect; second, if we fail to be perfect, we fail God. There must be a better reading.

Normally this passage comes up in our Sunday lectionary at the end of February and I would preach about it but it comes up only once every three years. Since Easter is early this year we will not hear “be perfect as God is perfect.” And the next time we will is February 24, 2030! Thus, I wanted to write to you about it now. In 12 years, when I do preach on it, I hope you won’t remember this Reflection, or, if you do, you won’t call me out on it.

The revelation I received is this command from Jesus, “Be creative as your Father in Heaven is always-creating.” I like this reading because as long as I am creative, like my Father in Heaven is always creating, I will fulfill Jesus’ command.

The problem is that on the surface, the translation is not Biblical. The Greek word translated as “perfect” is not translatable as “to create.” The Greek word Teleios (pronounced “telly-ohs”) is an adjective that means brought to its end, finished, needs nothing to be complete, mature, perfect in integrity and virtue, or an unblemished item to be given/sacrificed. Likewise, the root telos (pronounced “tell-us”) is a noun that means end, the end, termination, that-by-which-a-thing-is finished, closed. As you can see, Teleios has nothing to do with creating.

Teleios is used 19 times in the New Testament, only twice in Matthew’s Gospel – the aforementioned phrase and this one, (Jesus said) “If you want to be teleois, sell everything you own, give the money to the poor, then follow me.” (19:21) In the first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul writes, “stop thinking like children; think like teleios (“mature”) people and as innocent as babies.” (14:20) Similarly, in the letter to the Ephesians, “Then we will be teleios (mature), just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him.” (4:13) St. James, in his letter, writes “All of us do many wrong things. But, if you can control your tongue, you are teleios (mature) and able to control your whole body.” (3:2) This small sampling shows there is a lot more to teleios than perfect. But “to create” is not a recognized translation.

What words can you think of that start with “tele”? Television, telephone, telegram, telescope telepathy, telemetry. Like the old phone commercial, “Reach out and touch someone,” tele has a sense of going outside of oneself. Teleios is a way of reaching out of oneself to better oneself. The passage, “Be perfect…” is the cap of the Sermon on the Mount, a series of commands from Jesus that involve not judging others but instead praying for one’s enemies, carrying someone’s backpack longer than expected, greeting strangers, loving others not just family members and friends. For me, I can’t judge others if I am being creative. I am a more teleios person if I create and not judge. Being creative, like my Father in Heaven is creative, helps me be more Christ-like because I can’t judge and create at the same time. Christ, who can judge, instead reaches outside of Himself to love others in interesting and creative ways. Like Him, who creates, so must I.

-Fr. Dave

]]>Thu, 28 Dec 2017 22:26:48 GMThttp://www.saint-johns.org/weekly-reflections/exmas-and-crissmasIn 1954, notable author and Anglican theologian, C.S. Lewis, wrote an essay titled “Exmas and Crissmas: A Lost Chapter from Herodotus.” It concerns the winter customs of the residents of Niatirb, which, as you may have noticed, is Britain spelled backwards. On this fictitious island, during the most dark, foggy and rainy season, the Niatirb hold a great festival they call Exmas. Fifty days before the celebration, every citizen is obligated to send to everyone they know a square piece of hard paper stamped with a picture, which in their speech, is called an Exmas-card. Because all residents are required to send these cards, the market place is filled with crowds searching for the best stamped picture. A great amount of labor and weariness center on this custom.

The Niatirbs also send gifts to one another causing the same problems with the gifts as with the cards, perhaps even worse. Each year the guessing begins – what did my friend send me last year? How much was it worth? I must send a gift of equal or higher value. So whether they can afford it or not, the citizens rush around and buy gifts for others to keep up with their neighbor (undoubtedly of which one neighbor’s last name must be Jones). The retailers herald and trumpet whatever useless and ridiculous gifts they have been unable to sell during the year, now labeled as the perfect Exmas gift.

When the day of the festival finally arrives, most citizens, exhausted by the lead in to the festival, lie in bed until noon. But in the evening of the same festival day, they eat and drink five times as much as they do on all other days. The day after Exmas is thus very grave because of the disorder of the supper and drinking and reckoning how much they spent on the gifts and on the wine.

Among the Niatirbians are a few who celebrate Crissmas. It is on the same day as Exmas. Those celebrating Crissmas do the opposite of the majority of the citizenry. Whether at night on the day before, or in the morning of the celebration day, they head to temples where they partake of a sacred feast. Most temples have images of a fair woman with a new-born child on her knees. The Crissmas celebration is of joy and thankfulness. The day following is not grave as the result of excessive supper, wine, and Exmas bills, but rather, the more restrained and temperate Crissmas celebrators express joy and thankfulness for a whole twelve days following.

Though celebrated on the same day, Exmas and Crissmas in are not the same. Although some stamped cards carry images of the baby, with similar phrases, Crissmasians find it strange that so many Exmasians perform so much labor and accept so much weariness in the name of a god in whom they do not believe.

The C. S. Lewis story is a parable, of course, or maybe even an allegory. It is my hope and prayer that everyone at Saint John’s has a clear vision of Exmas and Crissmas in our lives today and joins me in saying, “May you have a very blessed Crissmas” for twelve whole days.

- Fr. Dave

]]>Wed, 27 Dec 2017 18:49:24 GMThttp://www.saint-johns.org/weekly-reflections/favored-oneA friend of mine, Brian, was asked to be the chaplain for the 2004 General Convention of the Episcopal Church. He thought someone was pranking him. After looking behind him, and then back at the delegation across from the small table at a coffee shop, Brian said, “Who, me?” and pointed at his own chest. “Yes,” was the reply, “We believe you have the skills of leadership, patience and prayer that are needed at what is probably going to be a tumultuous convention.”

Taking compliments does not come easy. We have to teach our children how to do it, “Remember to say, ‘thank you.’” Our first instinct seems to be skepticism. Our second is to ignore or brush off the compliment.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was minding her own business one day, I imagine, when suddenly the angel Gabriel appeared. He said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Lord is with you!” Mary’s reaction was confusion and she wondered what kind of greeting this might be. (Luke 1:29) I imagine she thought, “Favored one, me?” Did she look behind her to see if the angel was talking about someone else? After a moment of silence, Gabriel continued, “Don’t be afraid. God is pleased with you. You will have a son. His name will be Jesus. He will be great, will be called Son of God, will rule forever and his kingdom will have no end.” After hearing how great her son would be, she circled back around to becoming pregnant. Her response, “How can this happen? I am not married.” (1:29-34)

Like Mary, I too have pondered this whole event. After the first announcement, which was met with silence from Mary, Gabriel’s next assertion was, “Do not be afraid.” Did Gabriel confuse Mary’s silence and pondering with fear? Or, did she immediately fall to her knees in reverence and fear of the Lord… which is what any reasonable person would do. But, on the other hand, the folks I have talked to that have met an angel, did not hit the dirt. Instead, like Mary, they did the same thing – they pondered why they had been singled out by an angel.

More to the point, it’s hard to imagine being called “favored one” from God. I wonder if Mary’s two-part response, “How can this be,” and “I am not married,” is first intended for the compliment – favored one – and then second, how can I be pregnant when married I am not.

History shows that Mary was the favored one. All generations have called her blessed. Maybe it’s that God sees not what we are currently, but what we are going to be. Mary was called favored, and thus became The Favored One. She was not pregnant, but she became the Mother of Jesus.

The so-called magic of Christmas is feeling favored. Whether it is receiving of a gift, or spending time with people who love you for who you are, or being treated with your favorite food, this is a season of feeling favored by God. Yes, God sent Jesus to us; but, more specifically, for us. Why, because we are favored by God.

-Fr. Dave]]>Thu, 14 Dec 2017 05:23:23 GMThttp://www.saint-johns.org/weekly-reflections/illegal-nativity-scene​Despite what has been in the news, I do not think there has been a war on Christmas. I don’t think that just because Macy’s employees say, “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas,” there is a war on Christmas. If the national holiday is removed, or Christians are barred from entering houses of worship for Christmas, or if there are persecutions of clergy who support it, then I'd say there is a war. Nevertheless, I do believe there is a concerted effort to unseat Christmas as a celebration of the incarnation of God and turn it into a selfish, hectic, gluttonous, and stress-filled season. But that is to make money, not to undercut Christianity. I think we should be much less concerned about who is saying “Happy Holidays” and far more cognizant of what our response is to such tidings. Also, we should be aware of our participation during this season Are we helping it to make it hectic and stress-filled or are we celebrating the joy of Jesus being born for us in this world.

A story from Oceanside about Lighthouse Church in a fight with a homeowners’ association hit the news a few days ago. The Lighthouse nativity scene was removed from their property without their knowledge or consent. The HOA claimed that the nativity scene was on their property, not the church’s. The church has not backed down. They contacted the press, held a vigil, and are keeping pressure on the situation so they can continue with what this author believes is their 1st amendment right. My position, of course, depends on the ownership of the property. Even a church does not have the right to construct a nativity scene on someone else’s land. But it appears when a repair needed to be made, the HOA claimed the disputed territory belonged to the Church. The HOA cannot have it both ways.

Do you find it ironic, as I do, that Mary and Joseph were forced to go to Bethlehem because of a government edict and now our local government may get involved in resolving this dispute of a wood cut-out of Mary, Joseph and Jesus in a make-shift stable for a home. Had the original edict not occurred, our nativity scenes would look different. Maybe an edict in Oceanside will have some lasting effect.

Lighthouse has done many things right. If this happened to Saint John’s, I would urge the parish to follow Jesus’ parable about being persistent. In it, a widow demanded justice. Every day she’d appear in court and demand justice from an unjust judge. The judge finally gave her what she wanted for no other reason than her persistence. The story is perhaps more distinctive because of the actions the widow did not take, like violence or name calling. I’d like to see Lighthouse make one nativity scene for each day of the season. If one is removed, the next day a new one would arrive. Or how about this: create a living nativity scene with live actors and animals. Persistence can build God’s kingdom. Instead of freaking out about a large, corporate retail company that instructs employees to say Happy Holidays, Christian persistence would simply reply, “Thank you, and may you have a blessed Christmas.” As retailers eat up more and more of the Christmas spirit with consumerism, the persistent Christian reminds him or herself of the true meaning of the season. We will receive peace upon peace and blessings upon blessings when we pause to give glory to God for the birth of the Savior of the World.​-Fr. Dave]]>